殿下

Chinese

		palace hall	under; next; lower under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter
simp. and trad. (殿下)		殿	下

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): diànxià

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄧㄢˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): din⁶ haa⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thien-ha
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): tiān-hā

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: diànxià
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄧㄢˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: diànsià
    • Wade–Giles: tien⁴-hsia⁴
    • Yale: dyàn-syà
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: diannshiah
    • Palladius: дянься (djanʹsja)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ti̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕi̯ä⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 奠下 殿下

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: din⁶ haa⁶
    • Yale: dihn hah
    • Cantonese Pinyin: din⁶ haa⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: din⁶ ha⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiːn²² haː²²/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 奠下 殿下

• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thien-ha
    • Hakka Romanization System: tien ha
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tian⁴ ha⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en⁵⁵ ha⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiān-hā
    • Tâi-lô: tiān-hā
    • Phofsit Daibuun: diexnha
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /tiɛn²²⁻²¹ ha²²/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /tiɛn⁴¹⁻²² ha⁴¹/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /tiɛn²²⁻²¹ ha²²/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /tiɛn³³⁻¹¹ ha³³/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /tiɛn³³⁻²¹ ha³³/

Noun

殿下

1. Your Highness; His Highness; Her Highness

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (殿下):

• → Japanese: 殿(でん)下(か) (denka)
• → Korean: 전하(殿下) (jeonha)
• → Vietnamese: điện hạ (殿下)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
殿	下
てん Grade: S	か > が Grade: 1
kan'on

Kanji in this term
殿	下
でん Grade: S	か Grade: 1
goon	kan'on

Etymology

Literary Chinese 殿下 (diànxià)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) でんか [déꜜǹkà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [dẽ̞ŋka̠]

Noun

殿(でん)下(か) or 殿(てん)下(が) • (denka or tenga) 

1. (rare, attributive) down the steps to the imperial palaces where the emperor's relatives live, looking up

   Coordinate terms: 閣下, 猊下, 陛下

2. (monarchy) Your Highness; His Highness; Her Highness

   Coordinate terms: 閣下, 猊下, 陛下

   皇(こう)太(たい)子(し)殿(でん)下(か) / 皇(こう)嗣(し)殿(でん)下(か)

   Kōtaishi Denka / Kōshi Denka

   His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince

   三(み)笠(かさの)宮(みや)殿(でん)下(か)

   Mikasa no Miya Denka

   His Imperial Highness the Prince Mikasa

   敬(としの)宮(みや)殿(でん)下(か)

   Toshi no Miya Denka

   Her Imperial Highness the Princess Toshi

   秩(ちち)父(ぶの)宮(みや)妃(ひ)殿(でん)下(か)

   Chichibu no Miya Hidenka

   Her Imperial Highness the Princess (Consort) Chichibu

   高(たか)松(まつの)宮(みや)両(りょう)殿(でん)下(か)

   Takamatsu no Miya Ryōdenka

   Their Imperial Highnesses the Prince and Princess (Consort) Takamatsu

   エディンバラ公(こう)フィリップ王(おう)配(はい)殿(でん)下(か)

   Edinbara Kō Firippu Ōhai Denka

   His Royal Highness the Prince (Consort) Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Usage notes

A form of address with various uses:

• Under the 律令 (Ritsuryō) system, for the 皇太子 (Kōtaishi, “Crown Prince”) and the 三后 (Sankō, “Three Empresses”).
• After the Meiji era, for all members of the imperial family except the Emperor and Empresses are addressed as 陛下 (Heika, “His/Her Majesty”) instead.
• After the Heian period, also for 摂政 (sesshō, “regents”), 関白 (kanpaku, “chancellors”) and 将軍 (shōgun).
• For foreign kings, queens and sovereign princes.

References

• “殿下”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
殿	下

Noun

殿下 • (jeonha) (hangeul 전하)

1. hanja form^? of 전하 (“Your/His/Her Highness, Your/His Eminence”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
殿	下

Noun

殿下

1. chữ Hán form of điện hạ (“Your/His/Her Highness”)